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Bow Tie Tutorial

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Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}

Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
I love that bow ties are in style, because my boys look so adorable in them!  They are really easy to make as well.  The sizes for this bow tie should fit a boy about 4 and up.  Adjust the bow smaller or larger depending on the size you need.   My boys are 5 and 6.

Here’s what you’ll need:

-Two 3″ x 10″ pieces of patterned fabric (it doesn’t have to be the same on each side, as one piece barely shows at all, so just match it if you’d like)

-One 3″ x 10″ piece fleece or felt.  I liked the way the fleece made for a more fluffy and full bow tie.  The felt works great to.  **Please see note below on the felt recommendations**   I used the felt so that the bow wouldn’t be floppy and would hold it’s shape.  You could use other thick materials inside, such as a fusible stabilizer.  If you don’t want it so thick, don’t use fleece.
-1″ piece velcro

-one piece matching fabric measuring 2.5″ x 4″.  You could just do a 4.5” x 4”, iron the 4.5” side in half, then open and fold sides to the middle and iron, then fold in half and topstitch on either side.  Kind of how you make double fold bias tape. It’s easier than making a tube and turning.
-one long strip measuring 3″ x about 15″, depending on your child’s neck size.   You can use ribbon or elastic in place of this piece.  You could also change the 3” to 5.5” and iron in half length wise, then open and fold sides to the middle and iron, then fold in half and topstitch on either side.  Again, almost like you are making double fold bias tape.  It’s easier than making a tube and turning.  *please see note below on how to fit this just right*
Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}

To measure the long strip that is about 3″ x 15″, have your child put on the shirt he/she will wear it with. Or if it’s just a shirt without a collar, don’t worry about that. But either way, measure around the part the bow tie strap will be. Add 2″ to that measurement for the strap length.

*Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
**I used the felt I bought off the bolt for the first bow tie and it worked great (on left side in picture). On the second one I made, I used the small sheets of felt you can buy (right side in picture). My machine had a hard time sewing through the felt sheet. I suggest using the kind you have them cut–you can see how much fluffier and soft it is in the picture.

Take the 3 pieces cut to 3″ x 10″. Place the right sides together of fabric, and then the felt under that.
Sew 1/4″ seam around the whole thing, leaving about a 2″ gap at one of the ends. Clip corners.
Turn right side out. I used my scissors to help with this. Just make sure that you are turning right side out between the two outer fabric pieces, so the felt ends up on the inside still.

Zig Zag the two ends together, tucking in the unfinished edge. So you’ll have a piece that’s joined together at both short ends, like a ring.  It might be a little awkward to sew this part, but it’s so short, you can do it!  Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
Fold together like the following two pictures show:Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
Sew an inch long seam in the center, about 1/2″ from the edge, through all the layers. You might have to sew slowly, and it might have to be with a heavy duty needle, or you can hand-sew it. Like I said above, it worked great with the lighter and fluffier felt from the bolt, but not as well with the sheet of felt. AND as you can see, I should have lined up my edges better! Oops:).  Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
So now you’ll have this:Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
Take the small 2.5″ x 4″ scrap of fabric and sew 1/4″ seam, wrong sides together (unless doing it the “bias tape” way, then follow directions at the top). Turn right side out.

Look at the picture below. See the dotted lines? That is where you want to have a crease, on each folded line. So you make the top of the bow and the bottom of the bow even with the pucker you sewed on the back, making two folds along the dotted lines. Wrap the little piece you just sewed together around the bow.
Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}

Tuck the raw edges under and sew around the bow. Hopefully you can see in this next picture what I was talking about in the previous step with the squeezing the top and bottom of the bow together to match the middle sewn section.  I like to make sure that the bow won’t twist around in this little loop and droop, so you can either sew it to this loop, or you can add a drop of hot glue to keep it in place.

Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
Sew your long strap together the same as the middle, small fabric piece (unless doing it the “bias tape” way, then follow directions at top). Turn right side out. Fold over one edge and stick your scissors there.

Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
Tuck the strap under the middle of the bow tie.

Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
Pull strap through. Take the velcro and sew on opposite sides of the long strap. Tuck in the raw edges before sewing on the velcro. I made sure to sew the scratchy side on the part that would have less contact with skin:). Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}
As always, let me know if you have any questions. Also, I would love to see anything that anyone has made using a tutorial from this blog!
Bow Tie Tutorial {a lemon squeezy home}

To see more pictures with my cute boys in their houndstooth, click here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Thanks… now the next time we have a formal family function or go to church, I can make one for my little boy….

  3. Sooooo cute!!! I wish I would have had time to do this for all 3 of my boys for Easter. :o( Maybe next year.

  6. Okay, I’m remaking my bowties with your tutorial. I love LOVE how much more sturdy yours are. And having seen, and held, yours in person, I can attest to them being perfect! Plus your fabric is so stinkin’ cute! (and your boys)

  8. What a fancy tutorial, I love it! There is something so undeniably precious about a little bow tie. And I love the fabrics you chose for yours!

  9. I wonder if my two boys would go for a bow tie??? Maybe I could twist Matthew’s arm to wear one….so charming.
    -Janina

  11. Christie,

    What a fun blog!!!

    Love the tutorial! I’m following, ’cause i know I don’t want to miss anything!

    Hugs,
    Bird

  18. oooooo…. thank you!!! I’ve been looking for a bow tie tutorial that seems undaunting enough to attempt! I’m VERY excited to try this out for my little bug!
    ps – I love the polka dots!

  19. This was a very nicely written tutorial. I was planing on making ties this week…if I made bow ties do you mind if I link them to your site?
    Kristin
    peapodcreations.blogspot.com

  20. How adorable!! I just got done making a bunch of ties for my 2-year old, now I’m going to have to make him some bow ties too!!

  23. This is a great tutorial! I have to say that I’ve tried many a bow tie tutorial but this was the easiest and cutest!

    ***I added a couple of dabs of hot glue here and there to make sure it stayed the way I wanted, and they look great!!!

  26. Oh my gosh!! I can’t believe how many blogs you’ve been featured on! And for good reason, you’re amazing!!

  27. TOO cute! I just tried one of these and it worked out so well I made another! I’ve left some pictures on the link provided. Thanks so much, Christie!

    Kelly (Singapore)
    Paper Exploits

  30. Great tutorial. So cute! I was wanting to make one for my little guy at Easter and never got around to it. I will be linking to you tomorrow so come by and visit
    mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com

  36. Thank you, thank you! I am in the midst of making three bow ties for my sons and nephew for my brother-in-law’s wedding. Your tutorial couldn’t have been more helpful. They are turning out so cute!

  40. I think I’m dumb…but how do I zig zag the ends together without getting the fabric underneath caught in the stitch?

  43. Funny, I just sat down to find a bowtie tutorial, and your’s was the first one I found (and definitely the best!). I hope mine turn out as cute as your’s, they’re for my BIL’s wedding next week!

  49. Thank you for sharing your tutorial. I am a beginner on the sewing machine and made one of these bow ties perfectly and quickly!
    (Although I reduced the size a bit because my son is 1)

  54. Thank you for this wonderful tutorial!! I searched and searched for one that I wanted and yours was perfect! I’ll attempt to email you a picture of my finished product!!

  57. Love this tutorial! I have been searching for a orange bowtie (for Queensday Holland) for my father as a joke, but now I will make one myself! Thanks!

  58. hello!

    i used your tutorial yesterday to make a bow tie for my son who will be the bearer of rings in an upcoming wedding of some friends. :)

    he’s not too excited about it, but it doesn’t matter, because i have enough excitement for the two of us.

    anyhow, here’s a picture of him testing out all of his attire…
    https://picasaweb.google.com/SarahLidbom/June2011#5613605040443178770

    thanks to your tutorial, i was able to make this bow tie for about 50 cents. or probably less. :)

  70. I was searching for a bowtie or necktie tutorial for silvester 11 and i luckly found you website. Your tutorial is just sooooo great. Didn’t found any easier on the web. Thanks to you photos i could’nt make any mistakes (esp. when it comes to different usage of measures ^^’ )

    Here is the post of the bow i made :)
    http://tiarael.blogspot.com/2012/01/silvester-bowtie.html

    I think i will make some more (got some more or less requests for them from friends and family :D)

    Happy new year and have a great day.
    Hope to see more awesome tutorials of yours :)

    greetings from germany
    vanlau

  74. ~Christie~

    Beautiful Work and Stunning Photos!!!!
    Thank you so much for sharing your talents!
    I have pinned you on my Pinterest board… I would really like to pin some green bow ties on my St. Patricks Day Board…By any chance have you made any Green Bow Ties?

    Thanks,
    ~ShawnsNana~

  75. your tutorial was awesome!!! I don’t have any kids yet but i have a golden retriever. for her best friend i made an adorable bow tie for st. patties day and i down sized the measurements on the bow part and made her a little hair bow. i just used an alligator clip on the back!! It’s adorable and i love it. now they both are dressed to impress on st. patty’s day!! THanks so much!!! :)

  76. OMG these are adorable!!!! I was looking for a tutorial for bow ties, my husband absolutely love them…..now our boys can match him. I’m so glad I found your blog. Thank you for taking the time to create and share your tutorial.

  77. I have a little girl but a lot of friends with boys or boys on the way. I made my first scaled down version with snaps on the back to snap onto a onesie! Soooooo adorable. I just left out the neck strap. Also, I made this one out of flannel without the inside felt piece. It keeps it’s shape beautifully! Thanks so much for a great tutorial and I can’t wait to see my friends’ reactions to these adorable bow ties!

  78. These are darling! I have it bookmarked. Some time this Fall, I plan to have professional photos taken of my three grandkids, two of whom are boys, currently 14 months and due to be born in a few days. I will have to reduce at least the one for the youngest, but I don’t think it will be a problem!

    Thanks!

  79. I just made one today and it turned out amazing! Thank you for a wonderful tutorial for a novice sewer. Our little man is going to look extra handsome on his Blessing day this Sunday! Thank you!

  82. Fantastic tutorial! My son decided he needed a bowtie for his winter concert tonight. I had pinned this a while back and came back to it this afternoon… VOILA! A bowtie in about 20 minutes!!

  83. Loved the bow ties! This shows that those overly priced tags on these fashion items can be created at home an in a cheap way. I do wish most bloggers find it a habit to post something like this for simplifying one’s living. Good job!

  90. Just made two of these cute bow ties for my twin boys for Valentines Day yay so happy, thank you so much for this awesome tutorial!!!

  94. Thanks for the awesome tutorial! I am throwing my friends a baby shower and we are doing the theme of bow ties. So I am making bow ties for everyone to wear at the party. I think I will make the strap longer and just have them tie them on since I won’t know everyone’s neck sizes. Thanks again! These are adorable!

  96. I’ve just made this from a holly fabric for my son for Christmas. I did tweak it a bit to make it a little thinner. It has turned out great, easy to follow, easy to adapt a little, brilliant. Thank you so much.